Husband found guilty of strangling Worcester court worker

The overwhelming relief that justice had been served for Worcester court worker and mother of three Janice Santos came with one word from a Middlesex County jury today: guilty.

Natalio Felix, the husband of Ms. Santos, was found guilty of murder in the first-degree and will now serve life behind bars. Judge Kathe M. Tuttman issued the sentence which comes with no parole.

Denise Santos, the 38-year-old twin sister of Ms. Santos, said the June 8, 2011, murder of her sister rocked the family and the community. Once the verdict was read aloud, Denise Santos explained to her mother what it meant.

The pair wept while embracing.

“It was bittersweet,” Denise Santos said. “It was a huge load to come off. I know (Janice) is happy up in heaven.”

Mr. Felix walked in the police station in Worcester the morning of the slaying and told an officer that he had just killed his wife. Ms. Santos, 37, was a supervisor of support staff in the Worcester Superior Court Probation Department. Mr. Felix was wearing her court identification when he walked into the station.

Mr. Felix strangled his wife in the family's 16 Huntington Ave. home. Two days before his wife was killed, Mr. Felix left the family home and went to live with his mother and stepfather in Worcester. The pair was exchanging messages about their marriage and, according to testimony; it appeared Ms. Santos was asking for a divorce.

With their two children, then 9 and 11, outside the bedroom door; Mr. Felix strangled Ms. Santos. He told the two children, Nathaniel Felix and Natalie Felix, that their mother was sick, before he took them to school.

The couple's two children, now 11 and 12, testified in court. Ms. Santos' oldest son, Ricardo Pereira-Santos, now 18, also testified.

“This has been an emotional and horrible set of circumstances for a lot of people who loved and cherished Janice Santos,” said Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. “I'm proud of Dan Bennett and the prosecution team for their work on the case. This was a wonderful and beautiful mother who was murdered in a needless and senseless act.”

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